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Are you satisfied with the 2026 Alberta budget tabled Thursday?
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Separatists should think twice and have hope
By Lethbridge Herald on February 4, 2026.
Editor:
Separatists in Alberta want to form their own country. They argue for benefits like no federal taxation, control over energy resources and keeping billions in tax revenue within the province.
We would become a nation of 4.5 million people, the same population as Moldova ( Alberta has 20 times larger land mass) Croatia ( Alberta has 12 times larger land mass) and Kuwait (Alberta has 37 times larger land mass). We would assume all responsibility for the military, border control, currency, citizenship, telecommunications and the mail. We would assume all responsibility for health, education, social programs and pensions. We would have four large borders to control. No one has indicated how we would elect government officers.
The costs of establishing these structures, required for a functioning, sovereign country would cost billions, much of the tax revenues we would be collecting.
Separatists have us believe that our bountiful resources are the bedrock of our prosperity. These resources have provided for us but only at the same time as having a federal backstop in the form of transfers to support our lifestyles. The reliance on oil and gas is not always smooth.
In August, we faced a 6.5 billion dollar deficit, oil prices dropped as a result of a global oil glut. In 2016 and 2020 Alberta received federal stabilization payments during economic downturns. We have depended on the Federal government. We are not immune to economic instabilities. We are subjected to the ebb and flow of world politics and as a solitary nation we are tasked to go it alone. Wealth alone does not place us above the frey.
It is hard to imagine the requirements that must be met to become a viable country.
Negotiating international trade agreements and the loss of free trade within Canada only points to inevitable economic downturn. Albertans will be poorer.
Being a landlocked nation will require negotiations on all sides to get our products to market. Negotiations can be volatile, they take time and our fledgling country will depend upon them. Economic uncertainty will ensue. Albertans will feel the stress.
Fiscal and monetary challenges will be evident. Alberta will need to establish its own currency and manage its own foreign affairs. Population decline is inevitable. Tax bases would therefore also decline. Replicating federal services such as Armed Forces and border control would be costly and complex for a small nation of 4.5 million people. Albertans would expect the same level of social services as are experienced now. Albertans will be hugely disappointed.
Internal conflict will abound. Almost all of Alberta is under Treaty with Indigenous people. Treaty 6 covers Central Alberta. Treaty 7 covers Southern Alberta. Treaty 8 covers Northern Alberta and is the largest, covering 840 000 square kilometres. The Alberta School Councils’ Association states that almost all of Alberta is under Treaty. The University of Calgary indicates there are 134 First Nation reserves which cover 707 537 hectacres. Albertans will be engaged in legal wrangling for years to come.
Most currently, media reports indicate members of this separatist movement have been in the United States, securing a 500 billion dollar line of credit in order to establish a new country. What collateral has been provided? How does a fledgling country navigate its existence with a debt load like this, owed to a foreign country. The writing on the wall seems clear. We will be indentured, moving from what Separatists have you believe, abused and disrespected members of the Canadian federation to a poor and hugely indebted land mass beholden to the United States. Albertans will not be free.
At a time when our country is under generational challenges, when we are striving to come together, separatist sentiment seems out of step. It seems rooted in past disgruntled slights, it seems self absorbed and short sighted.
I ask that with solemn second thought that Separatists will reconsider. That they will move forward with hope and the intention to negotiate their greivances, rather than strive for change through threats and fear. Leaving Canada, it seems to me, is a desperate threat from frustrated individuals. I ask that you have hope.
Linda Gonnet, Fort Macleod
16-15
If the oil industry thinks that Alberta separation is a good idea, they would soon change their tune should Alberta secede.We would be left in no mans land, left to the mercies of the hostile crazies in Washington and in all probability, shuned by Canada. This is a time when all Canadians need to stand together, not talk about going it alone.. “Together we stand, divided we fall”.
Currently AB exports 3.81million barrels a day which is over 90% of Canadian exports. So enlighten how that is going to change. Thx. Nice mod on the Kardashians home city. lol.
So what, when you are only getting 3% of what Lougheed was getting for it ? With the help of you idiots Albertans have lost $1.2 trillion in oil and corporate tax wealth.
It’s created a $90 billion debt, a $260 billion oil well cleanup mess, a $30 billion deficit. But I bet you idiots have never bothered to read this article have you, or you refused to believe it, right, that’s how stupid you are?
“Royalties Down 32% Billions in Federal Revenue Lost”.
All you have to do is look at Norway and Alaska, and see what they have in comparison to what we have in Alberta. Not the way Peter Lougheed wanted it to be.
Alberta Mismanages Heritage Fund, Misses Out on $575B in Revenue Over 44 Years https://share.google/sPRhgOAx57FNqIRgE
You don’t need to be a genius to figure it out you just have to be smarter than these idiots who are letting these Reformers treat them like morons.
While Smith whines about building new pipelines the oilmen know that’s not the problem slashing Lougheed’s oil royalties and corporate taxes is the problem.
Oilmen now think that our losses are up to $1.4 trillion thanks to these Reformers and the idiots who support them.
Er, enezuela-vay?
Such a predictable reply. Given the curmudgeon that you clearly are , I suppose it is to be expected. That you have nothing to offer in any tangible form other than moan and gripe , not realizing the importance and danger of separation in these times, is so friggin’ obvious to most reading these columns. It is too bad , because if you played along and engaged rather than attack (Poilievre anyone?) better and more constructive discussions would ensue.
If the oil industry thinks that Alberta separation is a good idea, they would soon change their tune should Alberta secede. We would be left in no mans land, left to the mercies of the hostile crazies in Washington and in all probability, shunned by Canada. This is a time when all Canadians need to stand together, not talk about going it alone.. “Together we stand, divided we fall”.
If the oil industry thinks that Alberta separation is a good idea, they would soon change their tune should Alberta secede. We would be left in no mans land, left to the mercies of the crazies in Washington and in all probability, shunned by Canada. This is a time when all Canadians need to stand together, not talk about going it alone..
My 32 years as a member of the Royal Bank with ties to the oil industry proves to me how stupid this idea really is and every lawyer, accountant, economist, oilman, fellow banker, and former MLA we talk to agrees.
Watching these mindless seniors allowing themselves to be treated like morons is sickening and you would think they would be smart enough to do some research but apparently they aren’t even smart enough to do that.
Adding privatization of healthcare and education to their annual cost of living for them and their families will be a horrible burden. Adding hundreds of dollars more to their property taxes to replace the RCMP would be a stupid idea. Then ignoring the lawyers warning that you may lose your Canada Pension Plan if these Reformers decide to use the excuse that you have received a lot more than you paid into it and eliminate your payments, when they take control of them. Are you dumb enough to want to risk that?
There is no doubt that this will put a lot more ignorant seniors in the position of needing help from food banks and young people wouldn’t be the position to help them, will they?
Alberta has the highest rate of food bank usage in Canada. Also, Alberta has the highest rate of children going to school hungry in Canada. The UCP and Danielle Smith sure look after Albertans, don’t they? They don’t.
Great comments Linda. We would think these Gullible seniors who are believing every lie these Reformers are feeding them would be smart enough to do some research on the subject but apparently they aren’t even smart enough to do that, are they?
These seniors also influence their younger relatives how to vote. That doesn’t help.
I have had many young Albertans tell me that they don’t have the time to follow politics so they have relied on the seniors in their families to tell them who to vote for then wished after they hadn’t listened to them and it’s still happening.
Its mainly the fault of these mindless seniors who are keeping these Reformers in power and they are showing our children and grandchildren no respect for the financial mess they are helping these idiots create and they don’t care, that’s how stupid they are.
So 4 of these idiot seniors don’t agree with me out of a population of 113 thousand that’s how stupid they are isn’t it? I bet you can guess who these idiots are, they are so proud of how stupid they are, aren’t they?